Paul A. Ilves was awarded a Silver Star for heroics less than three weeks before his death
WESTMINSTER – A native of Rosario, Argentina, Pablo (Paul) A. Ilves moved to Westminster with his Finnish-born mother Rosa when he was only 2 years old.
While Paul did not grow up in Westminster but rather Warren, Maine, he returned to town in 1940 at the age of 21 to work as a hired hand for his uncle and aunt, Axel R. and Ida E. Tuomi, who ran a dairy farm at the corner of Harrington & Hubbardston roads. Shortly thereafter, the Tuomis decided to switch to poultry farming.
Mark Landry, the veteran’s graves officer as well as a member of the town’s veteran’s committee for the Westminster Historical Society, provided a good deal of information to help complete this column, as well as each on soldiers from Westminster.
This is the continuation of the series Remembering Local World War II Heroes.
Cpl. Paul A. Ilves (1918-1944)
Pablo “Paul” A. Ilves was born on July 28, 1918 in Rosario, Argentina to Finnish natives Henry and Rosa Ilves. Rosario, one of the largest cities in Argentina, is located on the western bank of the Parana River.
When Paul was 2 years old, his mother took him and his older brother Enrique aboard the vessel the Vasari out of Buenos Aires en route to New York, with the final destination of Westminster. They arrived on Oct. 22, 1920 and were quarantined in a hospital for a short time.
Once his father Henry joined the family, they moved to Warren, Maine where Henry took a job in a cement plant. Paul completed one year of high school before seeking work.
By 1940, he found himself back in Westminster working on the dairy farm owned by his aunt and uncle. Ida (Ilves) Tuomi was the sister of Paul’s father Henry.
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Ilves enlisted in the army, though not a U. S. citizen
Although Paul was not a United States citizen, he decided to enlist into the U.S. Army on Feb. 19, 1941. After training, he was sent to serve in the Panama Canal Zone.
While with the Panama Canal department, Private Ilves attained the rank of corporal and was assigned to Company B, the 15th Engineering Battalion, 9th Infantry Division. Cpl. Ilves' unit saw action in Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, and Normandy.
They participated in the invasion of Sicily, Italy, and eventually hit the beaches of Palermo in August of 1943.
Once that island was secured, the 15th sailed back to England for further training. They would go on to land at Utah Beach on June 10, 1944, during the famed attack on Normandy.
As the year progressed, by October 1944, the 15th Engineering Battalion was fighting on the Siegfried Line in the Hurtgen Forest amidst a driving rainstorm.
Due to the treacherous weather, over five days of fighting one of the 9th Infantry Division regiments (the 39th) lost as many as 500 men and only advanced one mile. In the meantime, the Germans were making great use of their numerous pillboxes, which would have drawn the attention of engineers like Cpl. Ilves to take them out, despite the driving rain.
The engineers worked hard to destroy several roadblocks that were booby trapped but tragically once such device ultimately caused the death of Cpl. Ilves.
On Oct. 11, 1944, Cpl. Ilves was mortally wounded by fragments from a hand grenade which struck him in the abdomen and the leg. Despite receiving a transfusion of blood, the 26-year-old Cp. Ilves died of his wounds.
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Honored with a Silver Star
Ilves earned the third highest U.S. military decoration, the Silver Star, for action during the war while taking part in a battle just two and a half weeks prior to his death.
A citation was posthumously awarded to him by President Franklin D. Roosevelt “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with the Ninth Infantry Division on the 22nd of September 1944. During the operations in Germany, his gallantry in action and disregard for personal safety reflects highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.”
Cpl. Ilves was buried in Shuman Cemetery in Waldoboro, Maine.
At a Westminster town meeting in 1966, the junction of South, Minott and Harrington Roads – not far from the farm where he worked for his uncle Axel Tuomi as a hired hand so many years ago – was given the name Paul A. Ilves Square.
The marker was later relocated to its present location at Davis and Harrington roads.
Comments and suggestions for Remembering Local World War II Heroes can be sent to Mike Richard at mikerichard0725@gmail.com or in writing to Mike Richard, 92 Boardley Road, Sandwich, MA 02563.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Cpl. Paul A. Ilves of Westminster posthumously awarded Silver Star
